. and that is a fact that the right is not willing to concede. and that's "hardball" for now. thanks for beingwithus. "theed show" with ed schultz starts right now. >> good evening, americans, and welcome to "the ed show" from new york. the time for common sense gun safety is right now. the country's focused on it. tonight i'll ask a pro-gun republican lawmaker why there is a holdup. this is "the ed show." let's get to work. >> let's go down the path of banning the assault weapon. i think there is a better chance to do that now than ever. >> the gun debate heats up on capitol hill. the president comes out for an assault weapons ban. and the nra makes their first statement following the newtown massacre. tonight republican congressman jack kingston of georgia is here to define his party's message on assault weapons. and congresswoman carolyn mccarthy reacts to the president's statement. >>> social security is officially on the table in fiscal cliff negotiations. david cay johnston tells me if there is any way that makes any sense. >>> and senator bernie sanders on how progressives intend to fight. p

an assault weapon ban that bans 35 different weapons. theweaponusedwasnot an assault weapon, therefore it wasn't banned. >> the definition of assault weapons has been gamed by the gun lobby in the service of the gunmakers, no doubt. if the bushmaster rifle with 30 rounds per clip doesn't qualify as an assault weapon, the term "assault weapon" in my opinion is absolutely meaningless. i wanted to get some answers from congressman kingston. so i had an opportunity to visit with him earlier today. >> congressman, good to have you on "the ed show" tonight. i appreciate your time. >> well, thank you, ed. sad times. >> we're having quite a debate in this country about gun control, obviously. and there is questions of bans coming up in the senate. senator feinstein says she is going to reintroduce the assault weapons ban. as it stands, could you go along with that? >> well, i would have to see what she has in mind. and as you know, the ar-15 that was used in this unfortunate tragedy was not considered an assault weapon. and i don't know if she would put that in there. it only shoots one round